Gummed paper moistener



Nov. 14, 19.44. r. H. KRUEGER emmen PAPER uoIsTENER Filed laren '7. 17942v M hm ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 14, 1944 oUMMEn` PAPER MoIs'rENER Theodore H. Krueger, Stratford, Conn., assignor to Better Packages Incorporated, a corporation of Newv York Application March 7, 1942, Serial No". 433,737

2 Claims. (Cl. 91-38) This invention relates to adhesive label or tape moistening devices and more particularly is an improvement over a form of device shown in my prior Patent No. 1,962,722, dated June 12, 1934.

In that patent a device is shown comprising a tank having a seesaw plate mounted therein, one

end of which seesaw plate holds a brush upended in a recess therein and the other end of which holds a counterweight which tends to force the brush in an upward direction. The device is provided on its top with a pressure plate against which the ends of the bristles of the brush press and a label orA tape to be moistened is drawn beneath the plate and between the brush and the plate for moistening.

This device, while useful for many purposes, has been found to be subject to certain serious disadvantages. One is that only if the brush wears to exactly the same extent over the entire working surface thereof, is` good moistening contact maintained between the brush and the pressure plate or between the brush and the label inserted between the plate and the brush. This difficulty arises because the brush is only able to move with its base in a horizontal plane i. e., it cannot tilt either end up or down to compensate for uneven f wearing. A second disadvantage of this former construction lies in the fact that the amount of pressure exerted by the brush against the label cannot be varied to compensate for various` thicknesses of paper.

The present invention embodies certain improvements in that construction which enhance its usefullness and considerably extend the life of certain of the parts and in general provide a much more workable and eiiicient construction.

It is an object of this invention to provide a labeler in which the moistener is not only acljustably urged against a pressure plate, but in which compensation may be made for uneven wearing of the moistener so that irrespective oi any difference in length of bristles at one end or the other of the brush, such as may occur from uneven wear or otherwise, efcient moistening will always be obtained.

It is a further object of the invention to permit adjustment of the amount of pressure with which the moistener brush is pressed against the pressure plate so that compensation for thickness of the Various papers or labels which are to be moistened or other variable factors may be provided for.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the tank with 'a single snap-on top which is easily applied and removed for purposes of cleaning. Further objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description and the drawing in which:

Figure l is a perspective View of a moistener embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the construction shown in Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Figure 2. I

Referring more particularly to the drawing, a moistener is shown comprising a tank having side walls Il, rear Wall I2 and front wall I3. The tank also has a base l5 provided with a depressed portion IE and is-v provided with feet |I which may suitably be of some material which will not scratch the surface on which the moistener is placed. The tank is provided in the central portion of its base I5 with a boss 20 which terminates at its upper endin a substantially cylindrioally shaped pin 2|.

B`rush 23 is preferably mounted in a trough 24 which forms one end of the brush-holding plate 25. On the other endof the plate 25 may be mounted one or more counterweights- 2B, two being shown in the present embodiment. The plate 25 has formed in it a hole or socket 21 and is preferably mounted in the tank as particularly shown in Figure 2 by placing hole 21 over pin 2|, the plate resting upon the curved top of the boss 20. It will be seen that as the hole iits loosely over the pin, motion about the pin 2| is universal, that is to say the plate 25 may tilt in both a forward and backward and sidewise manner.

The weights 26 are preferably mounted as particularly shown in Figure Zover narrow slots 30 in plate 25 and have bolts 3| depending through said slots and held rigidly against the plate 25 by nuts 32. It will be seen that weights 26 may be moved in a forward or backward direction to vary the force with which the brush 23 is pressed upwardly.

'I'he moistener is also provided with a pressure plate against which the brush normally rests and is pressed by the force of the weights 26 when no article to be moistened is passed therebetween. The pressure plate 35 is preferably rigidly secured by means of screws 36 or the like to the sides I I of the tank. 4Any suitable mounting may be satisfactory which does notclose the space between the front wall I3 or the tank top and the pressure plate 35. It has further been found desirable to provide an upturned flange 31 at the leading edge of the pressure plate which will facilitate insertion of objects to be moistened.

'I'he front portion of the top 40 has a downwardly depending flange 45 which holds the brush in proper position against the pressure plate 35 and the front wall `I3, as shown in Figure 2. The top 40 also has ears 46 which engage the shoulders 41 of the side walls I I of the casting of the tank and hold the top in proper adjusted position in relation to the brush. The top may be fastened to the tank by means of vthe leaf spring 4| which engages the boss 42 formed in the rear wall I2 of the tank. It will be seen that the top may be very easily applied by snapping the spring 4I over the boss 42 and as easily removed by insertion of a tool or finger under the I top 40 and is inserted under the pressure plate,

35 until a portion extends beyond Ithe front thereof las'sho'wn in Figure 2. The label may then be grasped by its front `portion and :pulled under the pressure plate and over the brush and thus out of the machine in an eiliciently moistened condition. The ridge `5I is provided in the top 4D to preven-t a vacuum forming between the top and the label and rendering it difficult to draw the label beneath the rpressure plate.

The present construction' and particularly the means for mounting lthe brush, as described alcove,A .are especially advantageous in providing eilcient moistening regardless'of the position of the brush since as the brush wears at its ends, the weights 26 will tend to, force the same against the plate 35 to `compensate for `the increasing shortness of the brush and furthermore should the brush' wear unevenly `and one .end thereof become lshorter Ithan the other, the l universal mounting about the pin 2l permits the plate 25 to be forced into a position higher on one side than the other in order to compensate for uneven wearing of the brush. l

Hence the ends of ,the bristles of the brush are always in contact with the pressure plate except when an object to be moistened is inserted therelbetween. Thisl is `a particularly important advantage of the present invention inthat the contact of the plate and the brush maintains the tips of the bristles in a moist condition instantaneously ready for use. If through uneven Wearing, one

side of the brush were permittedto be out of ycontact with the pressure plate, the ilm of moisture between the plate and the ends of the bristles would evaporate and no moistening would occur when a label was drawn past that portion of the brush. In the present construction, since the ends of the bristles are always kept against vthe plate, eiiicient moistening may always be had.

' `While I have illustrated and described in detail an embodiment of my invention, I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the use of such embodiment only as I realize that changes within the scope of the invention are possible and I further intend each element or instrumentality recited in any of the `following claims to be understood to refer to all equivalent elements or instrumentalities for accomplishing substantially' the same result in substantially the same or equivalent manner, it being my purpose to cover my invention broadly in whatever form its principle may beutilized.

I claim:

l. In a tape and label moistener including a tank, a brush holding plate mounted in said tank, a pressure plate on said tank, a brush upended in said brush holding plate against the under side of said pressure plate, and a counterweight on said brush holding plate remote from said brush, the improvement which consists in providing a universal pivotal mounting means for said brush holding plate serving to keep the ends of the bristles of the brush against the pressure plate at all times, except when an article to be moistened is being passed between the brush and pressure plate.

2. A paper moistener comprising a tank, a pressure plate `on said tank, a boss having a rounded top extending upwardly in said tank, and having a pin projecting from the top thereof, a brush supporting lever resting on said boss at an intermediate point in its length, and having a hole through which said pin loosely projects, a brush mounted on one end of said brush supporting lever and having its bristles projecting upwardly into engagement with the under side of4 said pressure plate, and a counterweight mounted on Ithe other end of said brush supporting lever.

THEODORE H. KRUEGER. 

